can someone help me get my head around this, currently itunes will not let you sync two ipods to the same itunes library, are we going to be able to sync the same library to both an ipod and an iphone?

I don't know why you can't do this. I can (although only one can hold the whole library, but I sync a couple of playlists and podcasts to my nano). Even with both plugged in at the same time.

For other providers to get in on the action, Apple would have to revise the activation process amongst other things. It is all programmed in the software.

Yeah, I'm sure that for the activation process it will only work with Cingular since, as I mentioned, the condition of buying an iPhone is that you sign up for a contract with them.

However, after you've activated the phone (and thus signed the contract), say you want to pay the fee and break the contract? That's certainly an option you have as a paying customer. So you call Cingular and do it.

Now, you have your activated and working iPhone, but you've cancelled your service agreement (legally). I can't see any reason why you shouldn't be able to switch your phone to another service provider (even if it means needing to unlock it). That should be well within your consumer rights, and it shouldn't hinder all the other things you do with the iPhone at all.

Kinda makes you wonder what those slackers who work at the cell stores are actually doing for the 30 minutes they sit at the computer without addressing you as they activate your phone, doesn't it?

Seriously though, while this is great news for initial sales per hour, getting a customer out of your store as quickly as possible isn't generally the goal in retail....

Unless the line is so long you have to implement 'crowd control' measures. If everyone is lined up for an iPhone, isn't knowing you're pulling 5-600 per person enough to make everyone move that line as fast as possible? I couldn't imagine anyone not buying an iPhone sticking around in a mobbed ATT store anyway as they aren't going to get great service.

Unless the line is so long you have to implement 'crowd control' measures. If everyone is lined up for an iPhone, isn't knowing you're pulling 5-600 per person enough to make everyone move that line as fast as possible? I couldn't imagine anyone not buying an iPhone sticking around in a mobbed ATT store anyway as they aren't going to get great service.

True, of course, but still - accessories are hugely profitable. This won't help those sales - sure most of the sales will happen eventually, but to my thinking, there's nothing like spending $600 on a phone to make a $150 headset look like an insignificant extra expense. After a good night's sleep that $150 headset might start looking pricey next to the $50 one

Yeah, I'm sure that for the activation process it will only work with Cingular since, as I mentioned, the condition of buying an iPhone is that you sign up for a contract with them.

However, after you've activated the phone (and thus signed the contract), say you want to pay the fee and break the contract? That's certainly an option you have as a paying customer. So you call Cingular and do it.

Now, you have your activated and working iPhone, but you've cancelled your service agreement (legally). I can't see any reason why you shouldn't be able to switch your phone to another service provider (even if it means needing to unlock it). That should be well within your consumer rights, and it shouldn't hinder all the other things you do with the iPhone at all.

In the video, it shows iTunes displaying your phone number. I would assume, since you can't exactly.. use that number with a different carrier, that they've somehow bound the number to the activated phone. That way, when you stick a different SIM card in the phone, it's gonna say "Hey dude.. thats the wrong SIM card. Nice try, but we thought different.  AT&T ONLY, BIOTCH."

Sprint and Verizon already let people activate their phones online "in the comfort and privacy of their own home or office, without having to wait in a store while their phone is activated". With Verizon, people can either go to their web site on your computer, or dial *228 on the phone and follow the instructions "in the comfort and privacy of their own home or office, without having to wait in a store while their phone is activated". What does using a phone have to do with an iTunes store account?

If I understand this correctly, Apple is only tacking on 20 bucks for unlimited data to existing call plans? That's a pretty cheap deal right? Unlimited data on its own is more than that. Tempting to get on board....... must convince the wife

It depends on what the mobile carriers mean by "unlimited". Other carriers such as Verizon tend to place so many restrictions on their data plans that the term "unlimited" has no meaning.

Sprint and Verizon already let people activate their phones online "in the comfort and privacy of their own home or office, without having to wait in a store while their phone is activated". With Verizon, people can either go to their web site on your computer, or dial *228 on the phone and follow the instructions "in the comfort and privacy of their own home or office, without having to wait in a store while their phone is activated". What does using a phone have to do with an iTunes store account?

Hey, no fair! You're not allowed to talk reality on a mac-fan board where people are already saying they love apple because they allow you to do this online! We're supposed to believe that everything Apple does is the first time its ever been imagined, let alone implemented.

Sorry, Apple has never said it has a sim slot, and having a picture with a big arrow and the word SIM on it doesn't make it have one. Neither do shots showing what looks like cracks in the plastic that could hold a sim card.

And even if it does have all of that, there's nothing that says the SIM cards it uses are tailored for the iPhone and it won't work without that type of card.

Its still too bad Apple doesn't make one of these without the phone/data plan, just a wide-screen ipod with Wifi capabilities. Now that would sell.

Sorry, Apple has never said it has a sim slot, and having a picture with a big arrow and the word SIM on it doesn't make it have one. Neither do shots showing what looks like cracks in the plastic that could hold a sim card.

Sorry, but Steve Jobs said so in the keynote last year (at 39:11). That picture is from his keynote.

Hey, no fair! You're not allowed to talk reality on a mac-fan board where people are already saying they love apple because they allow you to do this online! We're supposed to believe that everything Apple does is the first time its ever been imagined, let alone implemented.

its not the online part alone, as always with Apple its the total process. Dialing *228 and dealing with another bunch of underpaid, don't care service people - yuck. Trying to find where to do it on the current providers web site - I don't have a couple of hours to figure it out (No it doesn't take a couple of hours, it just feels like it).

Where else in mobile land have you had a clear instruction video showing you what the device can do. Where else do you have an clear, easy to fine, instruction video on how to activate the phone, and form the images, such a clear and simple layout to the process.

As I said in another thread this is as much a part of 'revolutionary' phone as the phone itself. Yes I can do it else-wise but how many people actually do it? Do you use this approach in the phone store itself - not that i've seen you wait while the magician behind the counter waves his magic wand.

I call BS on the "don't care service people". I normally order my phone online, and have to call to get it working. I was able to get my smartphone working in 5 minutes with the cingular rep. giving me instructions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by physguy

its not the online part alone, as always with Apple its the total process. Dialing *228 and dealing with another bunch of underpaid, don't care service people - yuck. Trying to find where to do it on the current providers web site - I don't have a couple of hours to figure it out (No it doesn't take a couple of hours, it just feels like it).

Where else in mobile land have you had a clear instruction video showing you what the device can do. Where else do you have an clear, easy to fine, instruction video on how to activate the phone, and form the images, such a clear and simple layout to the process.

As I said in another thread this is as much a part of 'revolutionary' phone as the phone itself. Yes I can do it else-wise but how many people actually do it? Do you use this approach in the phone store itself - not that i've seen you wait while the magician behind the counter waves his magic wand.

I call BS on the "don't care service people". I normally order my phone online, and have to call to get it working. I was able to get my smartphone working in 5 minutes with the cingular rep. giving me instructions.

Unfortunately you can call BS on the don't care service people because my experience is direct. Mileage of course may vary but most of the people I know who've dealt with these call centers for mobile don't have a good experience. I have had good experiences as well, but for an example I needed to get overseas calling added to a new account I had and that took 20 minutes on the phone to figure out. Fortunately I was driving somewhere at the time and they paid for the minutes.

I read a few days ago (unfortunately, I can't find the link anymore) that not only will the iPhone be locked to AT&T, but it will also be locked to your individual plan. So not only can you not take it over to, say, T-Mobile, but you also won't even be able to put it on another AT&T plan - if you do, you'll still be able to make calls, but that's it - the iTunes, iPod, and Internet features won't work.

Supposedly, the reason for this is to prevent theft. However, the cynical part of me says that the real reason is to make sure you use one of those iPhone plans instead of using a normal, cheaper AT&T plan with an iPhone from eBay!

its not the online part alone, as always with Apple its the total process. Dialing *228 and dealing with another bunch of underpaid, don't care service people - yuck. Trying to find where to do it on the current providers web site - I don't have a couple of hours to figure it out (No it doesn't take a couple of hours, it just feels like it).

Where else in mobile land have you had a clear instruction video showing you what the device can do. Where else do you have an clear, easy to fine, instruction video on how to activate the phone, and form the images, such a clear and simple layout to the process.

As I said in another thread this is as much a part of 'revolutionary' phone as the phone itself. Yes I can do it else-wise but how many people actually do it? Do you use this approach in the phone store itself - not that i've seen you wait while the magician behind the counter waves his magic wand.

And again, why should any of this require an iTunes store account? I can't wait for the day when people will need an iTunes account just so they can use their Mac.

I've always believed that iTunes is the secret sauce in Apple's recipe for world domination of the consumer electronics industry. An easy and convenient place to manage your media AND your devices. A lot of pundits say that requiring the user to go through iTunes to configure the iPhone/iPod/AppleTV is a disadvantage. B.S. I say, it is iTunes that makes managing all these devices so easy.

In fact I would venture to say that most consumer electronics customers will now prefer an integrated PC-based configurability. And this is how Apple will eat Sony's, Samsung's, Microsoft's and everyone else's lunch: Hundreds of millions of people out there are already opening up iTunes regularly to manage their iPods, they might as well manage their other devices on iTunes while their at it. They certainly will not want to bother opening up and/or learning how to use Sony's, or Microsoft's, or whoever's iTunes counterpart. iTunes represents a tremendous barrier to entry for Apple's competitors.

Rumor has it that Apple has licensed Exchange Active Sync after all, so let the Direct Pushing begin. Of all the gripes we've heard since this handset was announced, this one was by far the most prevalent, and indeed even a showstopper for some. It seems that Microsoft will announce the licensing of EAS tomorrow, though we aren't sure if this support will be included out of the box, or as an update in the near future. So now all the iPhone faithful will be armed with one more tool to defend themselves against the non-believers -- and here's hoping that the keyboard won't fail them as they begin pushing those missives out.

I have a Blackberry that was company issued under a corporate plan. The company also allows us to select another phone, and switch to a 'data' plan (as the guys who opted to get PocketPC's use). My company is willing to switch me over to a data plan if I get an iPhone. BUT...

Can I activate with my existing phone number, even though it's tied to my company?
Can I just switch to a data plan and then put my SIM card in the iPhone?

Alternatively, my wife has a Cingular phone under a personal account. Can I activate with her phone, then swap in my SIM card?

This crap is giving me a headache. I'm getting an iPhone Friday (hell or high-water) but whether I can use it is another question!

I have a Blackberry that was company issued under a corporate plan. The company also allows us to select another phone, and switch to a 'data' plan (as the guys who opted to get PocketPC's use). My company is willing to switch me over to a data plan if I get an iPhone. BUT...

Can I activate with my existing phone number, even though it's tied to my company?
Can I just switch to a data plan and then put my SIM card in the iPhone?

Alternatively, my wife has a Cingular phone under a personal account. Can I activate with her phone, then swap in my SIM card?

This crap is giving me a headache. I'm getting an iPhone Friday (hell or high-water) but whether I can use it is another question!

most likley (like my company) your IT Dept will need to deal with that number/account since you dont have the req credit info for iTunes credit check.